lineman

American  

[lahyn-muhn] / ˈlaɪn mən /

noun

• linemen
  plural

1. Also a person who installs or repairs telephone, telegraph, or other wires.

2. Football. one of the players in the line, as a center, guard, tackle, or end.

3. Surveying. a person who marks the positions of a survey mark with a range pole or the like.

---

lineman British  

/ ˈlaɪnmən /

noun

1. another name for platelayer

2. a person who does the chaining, taping, or marking of points for a surveyor

3. (formerly) the member of a beach life-saving team who controlled the line used to help drowning swimmers and surfers

4. American football a member of the row of players who start each down positioned on either side of the line of scrimmage

5. another word for linesman

---

Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underlineman
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• linemen
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of lineman

First recorded in 1855–60; line ¹ + -man

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lineman linemen

Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner injured his elbow attempting to arm tackle Allen in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

The Chargers signed eighth-year offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill to their practice squad earlier in the week to add depth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Former NFL offensive lineman John Urschel published a paper proving a decades-old mathematical conjecture regarding Gaussian elimination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

After three years with the Baltimore Ravens, the offensive lineman who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 313 pounds ditched his helmet to become a professional egghead in 2017.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Felipe Davila looping around a lineman thirty-five pounds heavier than he was to force the quarterback into an off-target throw.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Offensive linemen squared up against defensive linemen, while running backs took on safeties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Should your running backs fall to the turf as if tackled by invisible linemen?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Whether the two opposing linemen actually met at the line of scrimmage that night in 1928 — or in 1929, when the schools played again — has surely been lost to history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford and Tyler Davis are among the interior linemen who have taken reps since training camp began in July.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

We watch as the Colts hike the ball and our defensive linemen close in on the quarterback.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---